A Christmas message from SUDEP Action

Dear Friends,

The support we have received from you, our supporter community, over the past year has been truly incredible and has made a tremendous difference. Your support has helped our work throughout very challenging times, helping to support over 20,000 people from April 2020 to March 2021 with our bespoke, personal services. Without your continued support we might not have been able to achieve the positive outcomes that have benefitted so many people. Our research into the impact of COVID-19 on epilepsy services continues to  provide vital information, expanding well beyond our 2020 Lives Cut Short policy paper and with your support we hope this research will continue to improve services and awareness now and in the future.

We know Christmas can be a very challenging time for those of us who have lost loved ones to epilepsy. Some of us are having to continue to remain apart, when we most need to feel connected to our family and friends. We want you to know that along with ourselves, everyone at SUDEP Action is thinking of you; our support line is here for you and we remain by your side.

Sadly, the charity sector has continued to face financial challenges and in 2021, with many events still cancelled or postponed, this continues to have a huge impact on our monthly income, which remains down by 30% to what it would ordinarily be. We want to thank you for all you have done to date. It has been tremendous. However, if you can continue your generous support this Christmas it will make a difference to the lives of others and ensure we can meet a continuing high level of need.

Currently, we want to Light up the Sky with love and with memories, as a way of remembering and supporting each other. We hope you will join us and create a dedication to someone special on our much loved Light Up the Sky in Memory page: https://sudepaction.dedicationpage.org/lightuptheskyinmemory

This Christmas, you can also add a personal message to a butterfly, which can be hung on our 2021 In Memory Christmas Tree. We will light candles around the tree on Christmas Eve at 7pm and invite you to visit our social media pages on Christmas Eve to view the SUDEP Action Christmas Tree, brimming with all your dedications and messages.

We truly appreciate your gifts, but we do not want anyone to feel excluded from taking part in this campaign so, once again, a donation is optional. All funds raised through this campaign will support our vital core work with bereaved families, our valued risk prevention work and help to ensure our information and award-winning safety tools reach an even greater number of clinicians and patients.

We hope you and your family will be able to join us in this and leave your personal dedications in memory of your loved ones.

Please stay safe and stay well this Christmas and know we are here if you need us and that we are thinking of you and are grateful for all you have done and are doing to help, being alongside us and others this year. Thank you.

Jane Hanna OBE, SUDEP Action Chief Executive

John Hirst CBE, SUDEP Action Chair